Bliss (1985)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Ray Lawrence

Writers:

Peter Carey (novel)
Peter Carey (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

21 February 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

After Harry Joy dropped dead... his life was never the same again.

Plot:

An advertising executive dies and goes to hell... except nothing changes. Well, his daughter is buying drugs with sexual favours from her brother...

Plot Keywords:

Honeybee | Adultery | Surrealism | Paranoia | Crucifix

Awards:

3 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Barry Otto	...	Harry Joy
Lynette Curran	...	Bettina Joy
Helen Jones	...	Honey Barbara
Gia Carides	...	Lucy Joy
Miles Buchanan	...	David Joy
Jeff Truman	...	Joel
Tim Robertson	...	Alex Duval
Bryan Marshall	...	Adrian Clunes
Jon Ewing	...	Aldo
Kerry Walker	...	Alice Dalton
Paul Chubb	...	Reverend Des
Sarah De Teliga	...	Harry's Mother (as Sara De Teliga)
Saskia Post	...	Harry's Daughter (as Saski Post)
George Whaley	...	Vance
Robert Menzies	...	Damien
Nique Needles	...	Ken McLaren
Marc Colombani	...	Dwarf (as Marco Colombani)
Tommy Dysart	...	De Vere
Les Foxcroft	...	Paul Bees
Alexander Hay	...	Nursie
Allan Penney	...	Bettina's Father (as Allan Penny)
Rob Steele	...	Hastings
Paul Keane	...	Box (as Paul Kean)
Gerry Duggan	...	Neighbour 1
Kati Edwards	...	Neighbour 2 (as Katy Edwards)
Peter Carmody	...	Neighbour 2
David Nettheim	...	Cornelius
John Doyle	...	Bettina's doctor
Ritchie Singer	...	Waiter (as Richard Singer)
Stephen Wall	...	Mr. Clark
Chrissie James	...	Mrs. Clark
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tony Barber	...	Himself (quiz show host)
Hayden Topperwien	...	Boy Scout

Directed by
Ray Lawrence

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Peter Carey		novel
Peter Carey		screenplay
Ray Lawrence		writer

Produced by
Anthony Buckley	....	producer

Original Music by
Peter Best

Cinematography by
Paul Murphy

Film Editing by
Wayne LeClos

Art Direction by
Owen Paterson

Production Management
Carol Hughes	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Keith Heygate	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Colin Gibson	....	props
Eugene Intas	....	props

Special Effects by
Chris Murray	....	special effects

Stunts
Danial Donai	....	utility stunts
Peter West	....	assistant stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Geoffrey Wharton	....	focus puller
David Williamson	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jenny Miles	....	stand-by wardrobe

Other crew
Elizabeth Symes	....	production secretary

Production Companies

• New South Wales Film Corp.
• Window III Productions

Distributors

• New South Wales Film Corp. (1985) (Australia) (theatrical)
• New World Pictures (1986) (USA) (theatrical)
• Aquarius TV (1993) (Greece) (TV)
• CEL Home Video (Australia) (VHS)
• Juno Media Distribution (1988) (Finland) (video)
• Transvídeo (Brazil) (video)

Runtime:

112 min | Australia:130 min (director's cut)

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M (original rating) | Singapore:R21 | Finland:K-16 | New Zealand:R18 | UK:18 | Australia:MA (director's cut) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Iron Cove Bridge, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

New South Wales Film Corp.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in American Beauty (1999)

Poetic satire blissfully filmed

The Australian Broadcasting Commission recently treated its Saturday night audience to a director's cut showing of Ray Lawrence's semi-classic to coincide with the release of Lawrences's next film, made a mere 15 years later, `Lantana'. Unlike `Lantana', adapted from Andrew Bovell's play, `Bliss' is derived from Peter Carey's novel, yet is a very cinematic piece. Both Lawrence and Carey laboured long in the advertising world and clearly enjoy sending up the foibles of the hucksters.

The protagonist, Harry Joy, teller of tales (especially to policemen), can sell almost any campaign to his morally challenged clients. He drives a Jaguar and lives in a splendid large house in the leafiest part of Sydney's North Shore. Unfortunately Harry is felled by a heart attack after a long (family) lunch and wakes up in what appears to be Hell, which strangely enough seems to be just like his life on earth. He finds his wife shamelessly carrying on with a particularly vulgar American colleague, his nerdy Young Liberal son trading cocaine to his sister in return for sex, and his biggest client frantically trying to conceal the fact that their artificial sweetner causes cancer. Harry storms out to hole up in a luxury hotel where he orders in a girl, Honey Barbara. She turns out to be an alternative society person earning a bit of money for her north coast community. Naturally Harry falls deeply in love, but their romance is rudely interrupted by Harry being carted off to a mental hospital (at whose behest is not clear). Harry gets out, and sets off to find his honey flower girl.

You could describe the style here as early Australian magic realism (the fish dropping from Harry's wife's vagina as she lies about her affair, for example). Some of it is surreal, like the opening sequence when Harry's mother stands in the rain like some religious figure in a small boat outside a flooded church (a similar shot showed up in `Oscar and Lucinda' a couple of years later). The soaring camera beautifully captures Harry's out-of-body experience following his heart attack, and the scenes shot in the rainforest are appropriately lyrical.

Barry Otto as Harry gives us a decent if somewhat self-centred man confronted with the futility of the fatuous lifestyle that he has so effectively promoted to others. Even as he goes to pieces we can see him looking for a way out – even hell must have an escape hatch or service tunnel somewhere – and we are not surprised when he finds it. Lynette Curran as Harry's tough bitch wife carries off what could be a repellent role with great panache, particularly in her final scene. Miles Buchanan (scarcely seen since), with a fantastic 30s brylcream hairstyle, is particularly effective as the young fogey dope-dealing son (`I'm just a businessman'). Jon Ewing does an amusingly campy number as a haughty restauranteur who despises most of his diners and Bryan Marshall is very effective as Harry's befuddled client. Gia Carides as Harry's daughter Lucy, is fairly unremarkable here but has gone on to an active movie and TV career.

Although this is a film on its own terms the essential quirkiness of the book is retained. The message on one level is stark; our consumer society values are f**ked and we better get back to nature fast, yet somehow Lawrence and Carey don't beat us over the head with it – humour takes precedence over anger. And, of course there are dangers in nature also, as the ending shows.